Water was a little too cold for a sleeveless for me this time. Usually the colder the water the better for me but this time was different. Went out hard and found some feet and then got into a nice rhythm. I don't know what happened after the first turn but it felt like I forgot how to breathe...had to take some easy strokes to get back to it and finished up.

I haven't been training at all. I did 3 swims last week of steady 1500m efforts and thats the only swimming I've done all year. I need to train to expect a better result. Overall I was happy with this.

Quick and dirty. Not the fastest but good enough.

I could not get my legs to turn over at all. It was a struggle to get going and warm up. Cold water, with cold, rainy air makes for a LONG warm up. I felt this course suits my riding style: Short punchy climbs and longer straits/winding areas to hammer in aero. Problem was I could not get my legs to put out any power and could not get my HR elevated past 130. It drove me nuts for the first few miles. I figured at that time I'll take the first lap and spin the legs awake and hammer the second. I would find my legs for about 5 minutes and lose them again. This cycle went for the entire ride. 2nd lap was definitely faster but I could not get moving. I was cold and could not get my HR up. I got passed by 5 people...maybe...which surprised me given how crappy i felt.

Train. The bike is my strong suit now. I just need more time in the saddle. This time of year is typically when I've been training all summer and I have hay in the barn but with the way this year has gone...it's tough to expect a lot when you don't put in the time.

Quick and dirty.

Given my feeling on the bike I resigned myself to a struggle on the run if I pushed it. So as I started my run I made the decision to just kick back. At this point I wasn't racing...i was participating. I was going to take what my body was willing to give me. Just like the bike it took me 1.5 miles to really warm up. I'm a sweater and I didn't really break a sweat until mile 2...which concerned me. Once the sweat started rolling is when I felt my legs and a little fitness coming on. The longer I ran the better i felt. I was able to get up to a respectable pace for the last 1.5 miles. I finished strong which kinda saved this event for me mentally.

Again...train.

Got a piece of pie and water. Grabbed my stuff and headed out.


Training. As I said earlier: This year has been tough for me...and I can't pin point why. I completed IMAZ last year and had a newfound fire for triathlon and had hoped to maintain some form of Ironman fitness through the year. It took me a long time to feel the normal pop in my legs on the bike and the run following IMAZ. I did 1 tri in February and a few centuries through the year but nothing that I really got up for. Most of the guys I trained with last year moved away or gave up the ghost as far as training is concerned. So I've been struggling. Mentally it's not there. The desire and love for it is just not there. My fitness has taken a nose dive and it's a little depressing. I need to get out of this and this was a good event to help with that. I'll take until the 1st of the year and get my thoughts together and put in some run training and see if I can't turn this thing around. This is a race I could have definitely gone top 3-5 in my AG if I was at my normal operating fitness...but not today.


Great Race, Great Venue, and well organized. These guys put on a lot of events through the year and it shows. They know what they are doing and we will definitely be back.